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Mercedes B-Class review – life at the smart end of the family hatch market

The B-Class sits between an MPV and a family sized hatch. And this is the posh end of the range. So how does it stack up as a business car?
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4 November 2013

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The Mercedes B-Class has all the space of a compact people carrier combined with Mercedes’ premium packaging, and badge. We’ve driven the top of the range

Mercedes-Benz B220 CDI BlueEfficiency Sport

What is it?

This is the top spec version of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, with a 2.1-litre turbo diesel engine on board allied to a 7-speed automatic box.

Ostensibly Mercedes’s second smallest model, this all-new second generation B-Class launched in 2012 with the choice of five different engines and two transmissions.

Think of the B-Class as an upscale 5-dr hatch that’s particularly strong on space and packaging, coupled with the latest in Mercedes compact car technology. This premium badge, front-drive five-seater is also reputedly the world’s most aerodynamically efficient family car.

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Clever aerodynamics help keep running costs down without compromising on the spacious, airy feel inside the Mercedes B-Class

While the B-Class comes to market with a couple of 1.6-litre petrol engines and 1.8 diesels, if you want the king of the hill version, this B220 CDI BlueEfficiency Sport with lowered suspension and long kit list is the one to go for.

For the business car user, there’s a P11D figure of £27,825 to contend with, but on the plus side company car tax is a reasonable 19% thanks to a useful 120g/km for CO2 emissions that also keeps annual road tax down to £30. The official figure for combined fuel consumption is 61.4mpg.

Some would say the B-Class occupies an unusual place in the market. In some ways, like a downsized Mercedes Viano people mover, it’s also a kind of hatch-meets-MPV that seems to have few direct rivals. 

Still, for the business car user or company car driver, how does it really shape up, and is this flagship B220 Sport CDI the absolute pick of the bunch?

 

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Matt Morton

Matt Morton

Matt Morton is an automotive content writer for Business Car Manager

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